


hopeless romantics

by thekardemomme



Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: (mostly), Anniversary, Canon Compliant, Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, True Love, a ton of sappy bullshit, blink and you miss it tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:46:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27775570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekardemomme/pseuds/thekardemomme
Summary: robbe and sander’s one year anniversary.
Relationships: Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans
Comments: 8
Kudos: 108





	hopeless romantics

**Author's Note:**

> i love you in ways  
> hopeless romantics  
> want to be loved  
> and i hold you in ways  
> the moon wishes  
> it could with the sun.  
> -S.L. Gray

**zondag, 12:00am**

it’s late, and sleep is pulling at sander’s eyes, but he refuses to give in. he can’t go to sleep yet. it’s so close to being november 29th, the most  _ important  _ day of the year—besides maybe august 20th—and sander absolutely refuses to miss it. not when this is the first time they get to celebrate it. 

the whole thing makes him quite emotional, really. because he never thought that he’d get to have this. he never thought he’d be lucky enough to be celebrating the one year anniversary of his relationship with a boy he loves more than anything. a boy who loves him  _ back.  _ a boy he’s deliriously happy with, who he can’t imagine life without, who he never wants to be apart from. a boy he doesn’t deserve. he’s so fucking lucky.

it’s criminal, honestly, that they aren’t together right now. they’d fully intended to be, but then robbe’s mom started struggling, and sander knew he had to step back and let robbe deal with it. it was just one of those things that sander couldn’t help with. something that robbe had to do on his own, while sander provided love and moral support from the sidelines. and he doesn’t mind doing it, of course. but he  _ does  _ mind not being with robbe on their anniversary. 

(maybe he’s being a bit dramatic. they’re definitely seeing each other tomorrow, and robbe not being able to sleep over isn’t really a big deal. sander just misses him, and kind of wants to kiss him at midnight. and maybe do other things. anyway.)

sander clicks the desk lamp on as he settles at his desk, sketchbook in front of him as he props his phone up against the window. he’s waiting for a facetime call from robbe because it’s better than nothing, even if it  _ does  _ give sander flashbacks to the worst few months of his life: lockdown. he shivers at the very memory. 

in the meantime, he flips open his sketchbook and turns back to the drawing he’s been working on. thankfully it’s mostly done, because he needs it done by midnight, only some shading and quick fixes left to do. objectively, it’s nothing special, just a sketch of robbe, but sander has never claimed to be objective—it’s a drawing of robbe, which means it’s  _ everything  _ special. sander needs it to be perfect. 

as he sets to work on robbe’s hair (the hardest thing to draw, if you ask him, because robbe just has so much of it, and it’s so beautiful that it’s nearly impossible to capture it’s true beauty), he lets his mind wander. he thinks about this time last year, when he was trying so desperately to speak to robbe without stepping on his toes. trying to convey how sorry he was for what happened. truthfully, at the time, he wasn’t even sure of what happened. he hadn’t known that robbe saw them kissing until robbe himself told him, so late in the evening that it was really the early hours of november 30th. 

hearing robbe say that broke sander’s heart. he’d run back to britt because robbe got hurt, because he blamed himself—because if robbe had never met him, that attack wouldn’t have happened, and sander wouldn’t have had to walk around seeing robbe with bruises and cuts. he’d run back to britt out of fear, and it was the worst mistake of his (admittedly short) life. there’s nothing in the world he regrets more. in the process of trying to protect robbe, he’d broken the poor boy’s heart, and he’s not sure he’ll ever forgive himself for being another person to hurt robbe. he thinks robbe has had enough of that for one life—one  _ childhood,  _ really, because robbe isn’t 18 yet. his life hasn’t fully started. 

they’ve talked about it, of course. extensively. they’ve moved on, and robbe has forgiven him just like he’s forgiven robbe for what happened after their first kiss. but sander isn’t sure he’ll ever be able to forget what he caused. he’s not sure his brain will let him. 

_ but that’s not what today is about,  _ sander reminds himself harshly. he refuses to let their anniversary be clouded by mistakes of the past. this is a happy moment. sander won’t let it become anything else. 

just as sander finishes the hair and moves on to his face, shading robbe’s cheekbones, his phone starts to ring. a smile crosses his face naturally, because that’s just what robbe does to him, as he presses answer to the video call. robbe’s happy face fills the screen, and suddenly sander forgets all about being tired. 

“hi, beautiful boy,” he grins, and he watches as robbe squirms under the compliment. “you look absolutely stunning this evening.”

robbe glares at him, “i’m wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants. and i haven’t even done my hair.”

“stunning,” sander insists. it makes robbe smile and blush harder, which makes sander smile in return. there’s nothing better in the world than being the cause of that pretty smile. “how are you, baby?”

“i’m alright.”

“how’s your mom?”

that question makes robbe hesitate, his eyes flitting off screen as he bites his lip, and it breaks sander’s heart. as much as he knows that he can’t do anything, that the best thing for him to do is just be there for robbe, it kills him to feel so helpless. to not be able to do anything to make robbe feel better. 

robbe shrugs, finally looking back at the camera. his eyes, always so soft and fond, hold just the slightest bit of sadness. sander fucking hates it, with a passion. “she’s okay, i guess. much better than the last few days. it’s just… my dad’s an asshole.”

“yes,” sander agrees easily. because it’s true. given the opportunity, sander would gladly exchange some choice words with mr. ijzermans. 

robbe huffs a small laugh, clearly amused by sander’s feelings. “yeah, well. apparently they’ve been in contact. i don’t know all the details because my mom insists it’s nothing i need to worry about, but from what i do know, i think he’s finally serving her divorce papers. and it’s like… i’ve always known they were never getting back together, and i don’t even want them back together. i guess i’m just upset for her. because i know it hurts her. and i hate that he still has that power over her.” robbe sighs heavily, shaking his head. “for me, if i never saw him again it would be too soon.”

_ that makes two of us.  _ “i think i understand how you feel,” sander murmurs. “i mean, i don’t because i’ve never been in that situation, but… your feelings are valid, and i think anybody in your position would feel the same. it’s normal to feel that empathy and protectiveness, especially over your mom. but, you know, she’s an adult. she’s right when she says it’s not yours to worry about.”

“i know,” robbe concedes. “i can’t help it, though. i always worry about her, because i want her to be okay. because i love her.”

“i know, baby.” the whole thing both warms and breaks sander’s heart. breaks it because robbe doesn’t deserve this, doesn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of all this family shit. he deserves better parents, a better  _ dad _ more than anything. but it warms his heart, too, because of how much robbe cares. the tiniest people have the biggest hearts. “but like you said, this is most likely what’s best for them. it may hurt in the moment, but your mom is going to do so well without him. fuck that guy.”

robbe smiles then, that goofy little lopsided one that sander loves so much. “you’re right, thank you.” and then his eyes glance down, and sander realizes his sketchbook is in frame. he quickly pushes it forward so robbe can’t see, which of course only piques robbe’s interest. “what’s that?”

sander waves his hand dismissively, “my sketchbook. i’m tired, so i’ve just been doodling to keep myself awake.” he glances down at the drawing of robbe and mentally apologizes for calling it a  _ doodle.  _ as he said before, it’s a drawing of robbe, which makes it infinitely more important than most of the art he’s ever done before. 

“can i see it?”

“robin,” sander scolds, “patience is a virtue. you’ll see it when it’s done.”

“and when will that be?”

sander glances at the time on his phone, and sees that it’s creeping closer to midnight. so close to their anniversary that he can almost fucking  _ taste  _ it. “soon, i’m hoping,” he answers vaguely. then he picks up his pencil again to finish the shading, because he’s really running out of time. “so. how do  _ you  _ feel about your parents possibly getting a divorce? i know you feel bad for your mom, and i know that you’re telling yourself that it’s what best, but i know you. and i know it has to be bothering you, at least a little.”

this is something they’re working on. vulnerability, that is. communicating their insecurities and feelings and pain isn’t something that comes naturally to either of them, for different reasons. but they’re working on it, because if there’s anyone in the world that they can trust, it’s each other. 

so he’s only mildly surprised when robbe offers, “i guess it’s bothering me a bit,” without much prodding. but sander doesn’t let that surprise show, and instead just nods encouragingly so that robbe will continue. “i don’t know, i think it’s just mostly the fear that this means my dad will leave my life for good. which is something i’ve always told myself i wanted, because i really hate him sometimes, but…”

“but he’s still your dad,” sander finishes quietly, and robbe nods. “that’s okay, robbe. it’s normal to want a relationship with your parents, even if they hurt you. it’s also normal to want nothing to do with them, or to feel conflicted. but that burden isn’t on you, it’s on him. it isn’t your responsibility to make amends for what he fucked up.”

robbe looks down, and suddenly he looks so small. sander just wants to hold him. “i don’t want a relationship with him, i just want him to want one with me,” he finally says, and yeah, sander gets that. “i just feel so fucking angry sometimes, because… it’s because of him that i don’t have family traditions, or good holiday memories, or a consistently good relationship with my mom. it’s his fault that i’ve never had a  _ home, _ even when i had a house. and i hate him for that. but… i don’t know. i still want him to want me.”

“it’s his loss,” sander murmurs, because he isn’t really sure what else to say. “he has a great fucking son, and anybody who knows you knows that. everybody in your life is lucky to be loved by you and is a better person for having known you, and fuck him if he can’t see that. he doesn’t deserve you.”

it breaks the heavy mood a little bit, making robbe roll his eyes even as he blushes and whispers out a small  _ thank you. _ sander knows that means he’s done talking about it for now, so he goes back to his drawing, while robbe leans forward and watches him through the camera. they can talk about it more later, in person. 

this is another thing that sander absolutely loves about their relationship. that they can just enjoy each other’s company without having to fill the silence. it’s something he’s never really had before. previously, sander hated silence. it always made him antsy and anxious, and he had to do  _ something  _ to fill the silence. play music, watch videos, or even talk to himself. but he doesn’t need that with robbe. it’s almost impossible to feel anxious about anything when they’re together. 

he just wishes they could do this in person instead of through a screen again. 

“you know,” sander sighs, “i’m getting lockdown flashbacks and i’m not a fan. are you  _ sure  _ you can’t come over?”

robbe giggles, “yes, i’m sure. it’s late anyways. i would already be asleep if you hadn’t insisted i stay up until midnight with you.”

“it’s our first anniversary, robin!” sander exclaims, looking up at the camera with wide eyes and a wider smile. “i couldn’t let you sleep through this momentous occasion! and since you won’t grace me with your presence so we can cuddle and be  _ together  _ until midnight, this is what we have to do.”

“you’re such an idiot,” robbe teases, but his tone is too fond and love-drunk for sander to even consider taking him seriously. 

they just smile at each other for a long few seconds, horrendously dopey and disgustingly in love, before they’re interrupted by an alarm going off. it takes a few seconds for sander’s brain to reboot and realize it’s his alarm, and he fumbles to turn it off before the noise wakes his mom and sends her up the stairs to ask him what the hell he’s doing at midnight that’s so loud. 

once the alarm is off, though, he turns back to his phone. he sets down his sketchbook and leans back towards the phone, offering robbe his most lovesick smile yet. 

“happy one year anniversary, my love,” sander murmurs, voice soft and gentle and so full of love he feels like it’s dripping with syrup or honey. he wishes now more than ever that robbe was here, that he could hug him, kiss him, just hold him. feel him in his arms, and whisper sweet nothings over and over until robbe knew nothing but. 

the corner’s of robbe’s mouth tick up, and he leans even closer to the camera. “happy anniversary, sander,” he whispers back, and then he kisses the camera. sander nearly whines, but forces himself to hold back. they’ll get to kiss properly soon enough. “i love you.”

“i love you more,” sander insists, and while normally robbe would fight him on it, this time he just smiles all sticky-sweet and sander feels his heart melt. “thank you for spending the last year with me. i don’t know what i did to deserve you.”

“you were you,” robbe shrugs. “that’s more than enough.”

sander melts all over again, “my sweet boy.” 

another impromptu staring contest, both of them just  _ looking,  _ drinking each other in and probably both wishing they were together. that they could fall asleep entangled in one other, because there’s no better place in the world. 

and then sander remembers his drawing and the whole point of staying up this late, and he snaps out of it. 

“okay, you can go to sleep now,” he grins, double checking his drawing a million times to make sure everything is perfect. “i can’t wait to see you tomorrow. or, well, later today, i suppose.”

“me too,” robbe replies. “are you going to sleep as well?”

sander nods, “soon. i have something i need to do first.” he glances at robbe and winks, a mischievous smirk on his face, before they both collapse into giggles. “okay, okay, goodnight. i love you so much, robin.”

“i love you, too.”

sander kisses the camera just as robbe did earlier, and then pulls back so he can hang up. but he’s only barely hovering his thumb over the button to hang up when robbe calls out,

“wait, sander!”

and sander freezes, pulling his thumb away from the phone as if burnt. “what?” he asks quickly, his eyes scanning the background behind robbe as if trying to assess some kind of danger. 

but robbe just smiles—not the wide and lovesick one he’s been wearing for most of the call, but a smaller one, a softer one. more tentative and shy, more  _ sweet.  _ sander says it all the time, but robbe really is the sweetest boy in the fucking universe. and he really doesn’t know how he got so fucking lucky. 

“i just wanted to say…” robbe starts, but then he hesitates again, and sander can see that pretty pink blush even through the camera. he wants to kiss robbe  _ silly.  _ “the only home i’ve ever known is this. you know? not— not my mom’s, not zoë and milan’s apartment, not even  _ antwerp.  _ just… this, right here. you and me. you’re my home now.”

for a long few moments, sander doesn’t know what to say. he’s speechless, literally speechless, and his eyes and nose are burning with tears. he just… he loves robbe so much, so much more than he ever thought someone could love a person, and he’s so. fucking. lucky. 

one year isn’t enough. he wants forever with this boy. he wants a future, marriage and maybe kids and a nice house, he wants  _ everything,  _ he wants them to grow old together and die together and be buried together and he wants them to be in heaven together, if heaven is real. he wants to be by his boy’s side in everything he ever does for the rest of his life, and  _ yeah.  _ that’s what home is, isn’t it? 

“i love you so fucking much,” sander says, and it’s wet and laced with tears, but he doesn’t even care. “you’re my home, too. of course you are.”

robbe smiles again, the big one, and murmurs, “i love you.” they can’t nearly say it to each other enough. 

“and i love you.” sander looks at the time again, sees that several minutes have passed since midnight, and he forces himself to laugh around the tears. after all, he wouldn’t be sander if he didn’t take any opportunity to tease. “was this your master plan, robin? make me cry so i can’t post about you at exactly midnight? are you trying to do better than me? beat me to it?”

robbe rolls his eyes. “i already told you that my surprise is for later. i just wanted to tell you that, in case you didn’t know. no other motive, i promise.” he leans in again, and kisses the camera four times. “goodnight, sander.”

“goodnight.”

the call ends for real this time, and sander takes a minute to breathe. he loves robbe so all-encompassing that he feels like he could drown in it sometimes, but in the  _ best  _ way. in the way that he needs to stop and take a breather or else he’ll be so totally overwhelmed with his love that his brain won’t know anything other than that. 

and while it sounds ideal, unfortunately sander does have responsibilities other than his boyfriend. yeah, it was a shock to him, too. 

once he’s gathered himself, eyes mostly dry, he grabs his phone and takes a picture of his drawing of robbe. he doesn’t know what robbe’s plan for later is, or what that surprise is that he keeps talking about, but he hopes that this is enough. that this won’t pale in comparison. 

he takes the photo and uploads it to his instagram, with a silly caption that indirectly teases robbe for telling him to use emojis more, because he’s pretty sure nothing captures his relationship with robbe more than that. 

**earthlingoddity:** _ Happy 100th anniversary (minus the 00). But one day we will get to that number. 100 loving years, 100 kisses, 100 hugs, and 100 I love you's a day. _

one hundred isn’t nearly enough, Sander thinks. he wants more than that. he wants  _ forever.  _ he wants  _ everything.  _

but then robbe’s comment,  _ 100 times love you too! _

and, yeah. maybe 100 is a good start. 

**Author's Note:**

> IM NOT CRYING YOURE CRYING SHUT UP I LOVE THEM
> 
> find me on tumblr @wlwharrys and on twitter @starsamidala


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